


Cover Me

by oceanward



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMFs, Character(s) of Color, Emotional Constipation, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Families of Choice, Feminist Themes, Friendship/Love, Gender Roles, Homosexuality, Male-Female Friendship, Military Backstory, Mutants, My First AO3 Post, Other, Queer Themes, Self-Indulgent, Some Humor, Suburbia, Survival, Tags Are Fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 18:30:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10769955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oceanward/pseuds/oceanward
Summary: One year out of covert ops, Nate and Nora were still learning how to act normal. Their latest, most challenging mission involved civilian life, parenthood, and a not-so-typical marriage. They might have even pulled it off, if it weren't for the nuclear holocaust.The Not-So-Sole-Survivors (alternative title: stimpaks are overpowered - a fanfic).





	Cover Me

Her first moments of awareness were spent wondering why she couldn’t feel a thing.

After a few seconds, the feeling in her body came back to her, but Nora felt dry and fragile, like her skin was wafer thin and could shatter at any movement. Her mind was fuzzy, reminiscent of that twilight between sleep and awakening, when you can’t quite tell what is real, and what isn’t.

She felt her body moving without any input from her own, like gravity had started to slowly reassert itself and her limbs had become heavy, so heavy, that they were dragging her down. She couldn’t open her eyes, not yet, so she put all of her effort into keeping upright, to try and sit up.

Like a flash, her body shot through with pain, and penetrating, unbearable cold began to seep all the way through her, starting from her chest and rippling out through her limps. The fogginess in her mind shattered like thin ice, panic began to resonate alongside the cold, and she became aware of her heart beat, frighteningly slow despite her fear.

Nora was no stranger to pain. She pushed through it, leaning up and forward, ignoring the way her body protested. She couldn’t remember a damn thing, but she could feel cool metal, plastic, the air around which was so drying. She became aware of sounds, footsteps, voices, the loud abrasive sounds of machinery rattling about her ears, pipes that sounded old and rusted.

She opened her eyes, and saw a fogged window, saw figures through the glass, and her heartbeat finally picked up. Memories came back, and with it, a primal instinct to get out, run, fight, protect—

Shaun.

\--

Nora had been discharged a year ago, but she was still getting used to the slow, lazy mornings of indefinite leave. Nate and she had enough pay saved up for the foreseeable future, and they did deserve the time off, but something about the inactivity and safety of her new life made her twitchy and uncomfortable. It was always so quiet here; suburbia was like a blanket of calm which made her on edge, waiting for the polite smiles of her neighbours to crack.

Her bed was empty, as it always was when she awoke. Nate always slipped out for his run very early, before the sun rose on most days. Nora’s eyes weren’t as sharp (and wasn’t that the understatement of the century) so she usually waited until a little later, after her husband was home and showered. It was a good way for them to get a little space. She didn’t exercise as religiously as Nate did, and certainly wasn’t as enthusiastic about it, but she was still trying to shift the extra weight she’d put on during her pregnancy. Nora knew there was no reason to keep up her fitness now, not really, but old habits were hard to break.

She dressed mechanically. The casual outfits she’d bought looked boring at best, cheaply made and not so flattering, but Codsworth still took the time to press and fold them gently. It felt more like a uniform than her fatigues had, and certainly none of the Gutsy series robots she’d worked alongside cared about her laundry.

Pushing her hair back, she headed into the hall. Shaun was quiet in his room, so Nora headed to the bathroom, rapping on the door as she waved good morning to Codsworth. The robot waved one of his arms back, and moved to put the coffee on; this was routine for them now, because Nora was nothing without her morning cup of black roast. Codsworth seems to have made it a personal challenge to get it just right, from the strength down to the degree of heat. Nora took some pride in that – she’d modified his AI just enough so that quirks like that were developing more quickly, but not so much that he’d decide to murder anyone in their sleep – hopefully, anyway. Nora didn’t think that would come under the warranty.

“Nora?” Nate’s voice came through the door, the tone of his voice exasperated and fond. She’d missed something he’d said – she was getting soft, no doubt.

Nora opened the door, and pushed through the steam that greeted her. Nat was dressed and gripping the vanity, his muscled back pushing through his white tee in a very pleasant way.

“Good morning gorgeous,” Nora said, winking at the man in the mirror, “Are you practising your speech?”

Nate rolled his eyes at her, but some of the tension in his forearms loosened, along with his grip on the sink. He shifted a little, enough that Nora could slip in beside him, and grab her hairbrush from the mirror cabinet.

“It should be you, you know.” Nate said, moving to lean on the wall next to the mirror. His hair was well combed, and he had just enough stubble to make it look unintentional. “You’ve got the experience too, and you wouldn’t be scared shitless like I am.”

Nora hummed, knowing that it was a token protest at best. “You know that’s not what it’s about.”

Nate hummed back, his forehead creasing for a moment before smoothing out, and his hand went to his hair, pushing it back absently, totally ruining the tidy look he’d been trying to perfect. The messiness suited him anyway, Nora thought, but she also knew how hard they both had to work to look like normal, boring civilians, so she passed him his comb again, and they worked to assimilate in companionable silence.

Looking at them in the mirror, Nora knew they were luckier than some. They were both conventionally attractive, him tall and muscled, she curved and tanned. Nate’s pale skin contrasted with his jet black hair, and he had the smile of toothpaste commercial. Nora’s latino genes showed through with amber eyes and thick lashes, and after the work she’d had done after her service, her face was free of scarring or blemishes. Once they tidied up, they looked stunning, and Nora wasn’t modest enough not to feel a little proud of that.

Besides, it helped them hide the long list of things about them which didn’t fit the ‘American Dream’.

\--

Nora’s voice was hoarse, but she kept yelling anyway, slamming her fists against the glass window, the capsule barely vibrating from her efforts. Her body was slow but her mind was racing, running through the events leading to this stage; Nate talking to the VaultTek representative at their door, the news, the bombs, Nate and Shaun.

Across from her were figures talking, a little blurry from the distance. Nora’s glasses were at home, damn it, so she couldn’t see faces, but she could see their suits, and the container ahead of her opening.

She could see Nate and Shaun.

Nate was talking to a woman in a full body hazmat suit, and the room was so dark, lit only by the pod in front of her. Seeing them alive and safe right there calmed her enough to quit her yelling and wait – surely she would be out shortly? Her reaction, in hindsight, seemed a little dramatic. Maybe now that she was calm, they would let her out of the cold, strange capsule, and she could ask them what in earth they’d dosed her with.

Shaun’s crying shattered her thoughts.

They were trying to take the baby from her husband, who wouldn’t let go – Nate was no doubt feeling as strange as Nora was, but he was strong, and he held tight. Nora wanted to tell him to stop panicking, that they could take their boy, Nate’d get him back as soon as the two of them came right. These people were here to help, right? Why else would they want to take Shaun?

A man rose his gun, a heavy six round revolver, and the last of the numbness Nora felt was lost in a wave of hot rage.

Then the shot, and Nate’s body going limp. One shot – Nora’s mind raced – she’d seen Nate keep running after several, how could he be so still? The pod door closed, seemingly on its own, obscuring the body from her view. They couldn’t… he wouldn’t be… He wasn’t.

Nora’s anger flowed through her, strength returning to her limbs, but she stayed still, cataloguing everything. The man came close enough to her window, his face burned into her mind.

She was going to kill him. He was a dead man.

Before she could make a plan, however, the man was gone, and the window began to fog again. An announcement sounded some nearby, and Nora’s anger turned on herself. Cryogenic sequence. She hadn’t been paying attention when they arrived, so glad to have missed the blast, but had she been so distracted that she hadn’t noticed cryogenic technology? Cold flooded back, along with a feeling Nora was unfamiliar with. Helplessness.

\--

When Nora came to again, her memories were intact, and the cold-dry feeling was more bearable. She forced her eyes open as soon as she could, and focused her rage into a low buzz of concentration.

Shaun was gone.

Nate was injured, maybe dead.

She’d been frozen, twice at least, for an unknown period of time – she was alive, but had no idea what side effects there may have been.

This was a problem. Nora was trained to solve problems. She just needed to not panic.

Perhaps it was a crutch, but long ago, Nora had learned to focus on the rage instead of the fear. As soon as the pod popped open, she pushed herself out, letting the fresh air warm her up. The cold was excruciating, but at least now she knew why, so she moved her muscles, trying to get the blood flowing faster. She didn’t have time for caution – Nate’s body was barely preserved in front of her, still defrosting, and she needed to move quickly.

The pod didn’t open like hers had, which was strange and made her glance around quickly to see if there was anyone in the room. Nora supposed that leaving the pod closed might work to her advantage. His vault suit was stained with blood down his chest, but while he stayed cool, it might slow his bleeding. If he was alive – and he must be, Nora thought desperately - she would need stims and coagulants, and quickly.

She pushed away from the pod, stumbling as her muscles protested, and moved up the hall, noting the lack of movement from the other pods. Nora would check them soon, but not now; whatever this was, wherever they were, she would need Nate to face it.

The place would be quiet but for dripping water, only alarm blasts echoed through the vault. The place was deserted, as far as she could tell, old coffee cups littered about and paper strewn across the floor. The most worrying thing, apart from the frozen bodies lined up in rows, was the rust which crept up the walls – it seemed like minutes ago she had walked these same halls, brand new and smelling of fresh paint. How much time had passed?

Anger flooded through her again, along with a rush of determination. There was a giant bug she could see, on the other side of a window. Nora took a moment to panic, and then gritted her teeth, paying it no mind. All she’d managed to find so far was a tool box, and a security baton. She dragged them both along with her, ready to fight, but rounded the corner to a small deserted office. She could have screamed in frustration from the deserted mess, if it not for a single stimpak sitting on the desk, like it was waiting for her.

Nora grabbed it, and spared a couple of minutes to go through the filing cabinets – rotten paper, clipboards, cigarettes. She managed to find an old shirt, which she could use to bind the wound maybe? Nora cursed under her breath; she wasn’t a medic. She could stick him with the stims, but then what? Wait and pray?

After she’d dragged her haul back to the pod, she flipped the switch, continually swearing in a steady stream under her breath. Nate hadn’t stirred, but the blood had spread, and he was pale, so pale. There was no response as she unzipped his suit, trying to disturb the site as little as possible, and surveyed the damage.  Nate was cold to the touch, but considering the situation, that wasn’t as worrying as it might have been.

The pistol had been powerful, Nora noted; the bullet had gone straight through the collarbone, and into the pod behind him. It wasn’t near his organs, Nora didn’t think, but the bone was shattered, and she has no idea –

She shoved the needle right below the site, injecting slowly – just like in training, _one, two, three, four, quickly remove the needle_. The flesh was knitting; god, she hoped that meant he was alive.

Nora stood back, and waited. She counted to ten.

Twenty.

Thirty.

Nate shifted slightly.

Nora sank to her knees.

\--

When Nate awoke, he was in trashed room, laid back on a damp mattress, and felt more hangover than he’d been in his life. He could see other bunks in the room, mostly ripped apart, and some of the resulting fabric had been laid across his chest. Next to his bed was a gun, and three used stimpaks. He was washed by the smell of metal, mildew, and smoke.

“You’re awake.”

Nate turned, fear rising within him. The room was unfamiliar enough to make him uneasy, but it was the tone of voice coming from Nora, more than anything else, that made him worry. She was scared. Nora was almost never scared.

His wife was sitting on a small rusted stool, wrapped in torn mattress fabric, a cigarette in hand. She took a long pull from it, and blew the smoke up, watching as it filled the room with a sense of calm which seemed to contradict her demeanour – she looked small and withdrawn, weak in a way Nate had never seen her, even injured after a fire fight. Her hair was pulled back with a scrap of blue fabric and she had a pair of unfamiliar glasses on, behind which her eyes watched him closely.

“You’re smoking,” Nate said, trying to get his head around the image, “We said we’d—“

“I know we said we’d quit when we left the forces,” Nora said, a forced smile playing at her lips, “Sorry. There’s no food. It’s distracting.”

Nate shook his head, and moved it sit up. His teeth clenched – pain rippled through his arm and chest, but he pushed through it.

“You shouldn’t move yet.” Nora started.

“Shut up, Nora.” Nate said with a groan.

“Yeah, okay. Fair.” Nora said, a dry, tired laugh. “Single shoulder gun wound, shattered collarbone. No hostiles in the area. You’ve been out for two days, uh. I think. Kind of.”

Nate managed to sit forward, and Nora handed him a mug of water. He knocked it back gratefully, and took a deep breath.

“Where’s Shaun?” Nate said, taking stock of his body. The wound seemed to be healing fine – it mostly ached at this point, but the post-stims exhaustion was holding him back.

“What do you remember?” Nora asked, voice quiet.

“Bombs. The Vault. Waking up, and someone grabbing Shaun.” Nate said, playing it back. “I think I heard a voice say Cryogenics? Is it –“

“Yeah, we were frozen,” Nora said, “This place is wrecked, rusty and shit. No people apart from defrosting corpses and skeletons. It’s been years, who knows how long.”

“Fuck.” Nate said, pushing a hand back through his hear.

“ _Fuck_.” Nora agreed, anger showing through her calm act, “I’ve read the terminals around here, and it’s been at least a year, but my guess? At least a decade. Shaun’s gone, maybe last week, maybe years ago.”

“We’ll find him.” Nate said, locking eyes with her.

Nora’s breath shook as she exhaled, but she nodded, her jaw forward and eyes still on his. She was with him. “We need food. This place has nothing but roaches, and I don’t think we should eat them.”

“Not much of a meal, anyway,” Nate said, swinging his feet around to the floor.

Nora huffed a bit in disbelief, but didn’t say anything else on the matter. Nate tried not to think about just how many roaches there might be – he could deal with a few bugs.

“Water?” Nate asked, after a pause.

“I’ll get it.” Nora said, ducking around the corner.

Nate listened to the sink running, and digested their situation. The vault was abandoned. Time must have passed enough for people to leave. Nora and he had tracked people plenty in their time in the military – this was just another mission. Surely when we get out, they can get back in touch with their ex-crew; they probably knew the bombs were coming, and might have survived. If not, there had to me someone left they could get to help, maybe the police. Things might not be too bad up there.

From that bomb, though, Nate doubted that their house was still standing. He also doubted that their insurance cover included nukes.

Nora came back, passed him the water, and said, “I need to leave to get us food.”

“You’re not going alone.” Nate said, pushing to his feet. He managed to avoid swaying too much.

“You’d slow me down,” Nora said, crossing her arms.

“That wasn’t a no,” Nate pointed out, picking up one of the guns, “We both know I can handle it, and worse.”

Nora smiled a little, and nodded. After all, they’d managed much worse before their time in suburbia. Nate’s vision blurred a little, and his legs shook, but his aim would still be steady. Fatherhood hadn’t changed him that much.

\--

“Oh. Those roaches are… something.” Nate said, kicking the dead bug, and trying not to throw up.

“I had to kill most of them with a baton.” Nora said, voice sharp, “A stick. They attacked me.”

“Well, at least we have guns now.” Nate said, smiling at her. “No big deal, right?”

“ _Nate_.”

“Thank you for killing the giant bugs, honey.”

“You’re welcome.”

\--

Nate took stock of the area near the vault door, taking in the skeletons and dead roaches. Nora was over by the console, using one of the tech devices that the vault team had strapped to their arms.

“Where’d you get one of those?” Nate said, heading over to where she stood, turning the dials on the device which had, truthfully, seen better days.

“On this guy,” Nora said, shifting the skeleton’s arm with a boot, “Get your own.”

“Seen any others?” Nate asked, watching as the screen lit up, and green lettering ran across the screen. He wasn’t much of a tech guy, but he wasn’t completely stupid. He’d figure it out.

“Broken ones,” Nora admitted, glancing about. “There are plenty of spare suits, at least – you should grab a few clean ones from over there before we head out. Maybe change out of that one… I’ll see what I can find.”

Five minutes later, the two of them are changed into clean, blood stain free jump suits, and Nate has a working pip-boy of his own. The screen was cracked badly, but he could kind of make out the writing on it.

“It’s okay,” Nora said, noticing his frown, “I’ll need to mess around with mine too – it seems to think it’s the year 2287.”

“It better not be.” Nate said, with a laugh.

“It isn’t.” Nora replied quickly, and Nate chose to ignore the underlying tone of worry in her voice. “Come on, let’s get out of this can.”

Nate watched her plug into the console and work her magic. At least they had each other, he thought, bright orange flashing overhead.

They both knew they’d never love each other, not like they were supposed to, but they were family nonetheless. Maybe if they were less broken, things would be different – maybe she’d open up, and maybe he would appreciate a woman’s touch. Maybe not.

But no matter what, they had each other’s backs, and that was enough.

\--

When Nate was introduced to Nora, she ignored him completely, eyes on their superior as the mission was outlined. He knew from her introduction that she’d transferred from ground troops, where she’d led a mostly robotic division, and had extensive battle experience. When she spoke to the mission head, she smiled, magnetic and well spoken. Nora had been clearly intelligent, and Nate was sure she’d do well, even without the stealth ops background he had.

After their superior left, she turned her gaze on him, and her smile faded. Her eyes were hard, and they seemed to bore through him. Nate wasn’t completely unused to that reaction, but hoped that they could get passed it quickly – he was American born, and he fought for his country. That, and his Corporal father, had gotten him this far. His mother may have been Chinese, but he was not.

“Glad to have you aboard,” Nate said, smiling hesitantly, “Need me to show you around?”

Nora’s eyes narrowed, “I’m not interested.”

“Right,” Nate said, ready to bail out of the conversation, “Well, if you need anything--“

“I’m not interested in you,” Nora clarified, “So don’t try anything.”

Nate nearly rolled his eyes, but he refrained. He knew it could be hard for women in the forces, so he tried not to write her off completely for the attitude. At least she wasn’t being racist, right?

Nora hadn’t moved, so Nate squared his shoulders and said, “I was just being polite.”

“I was just being clear.” Nora said, eyeing him further. “I know your type, and I’m not buying the friendly act.”

“You’re barking up the wrong tree,” Nate said, feeling a little frustrated. Boy, did she have nothing to worry about from him – as much as he tried to hide it.

The hilarity of the situation struck him for a moment. The woman in front of his was sharp, capable, charismatic – all traits that he’d always found attractive.  Nora obviously worked hard to get here – there were very few women at this level. Her hair was dark, cropped short in military style, but did nothing to detract from the femininity of her eyes and full lips – she was definitely beautiful. Nate didn’t doubt that she would have trouble with other soldiers. But Nate was twenty four and no longer in denial about his sexuality, even if he refused to act on it.

“Am I?” Nora asked, shifting her weight, one hip cocking out.

“ _Yes_.” Nate said, frustration making his tone sharp, and by the responding look of surprise on Nora’s face, giving him away completely.

“I see,” she said, posture shifting once more, but expression giving nothing away.

“I didn’t mean—“ Nate began, scrambling for a cover. He could feel warmth travelling up his neck. He didn’t need any suspicion here, not when he was already dealing with people’s distrust on the racial front. “I have a girlfriend.”

“Of course,” Nora said, expression relaxing, “Lead the way.”

“What?” Nate huffed out a breath, brushing a hand through his fringe.

“To the armoury,” Nora clarified, moving in closer. “I’m interested after all – in the tour, that is.”

Nate was beginning to wonder if he’d been assigned a mission with a lunatic, especially when she leaned in, smoothing down his hair a little.

“I get it,” She said quietly, “If you ever need a cover, let me know. Maybe we can help each other.”

Nate said nothing as the woman shifted back, eyebrow raised expectantly. Nora may not be crazy, but she definitely trouble. After a moment he turned, gesturing down the hall. As Nate headed towards the armoury, he heard the woman’s heavy steps behind her, and wondered how a woman so slender could make so much noise.

\--

The elevator came to a stop outside, and the sun was welcome, even if it took a few moments for Nora’s eyes to adjust to the light. The glasses she’d found were over the top, circular and red rimmed, but they made it easier for her to see the trees and houses in the distance, or what was left of them.

“What a mess,” Nate commented, with a laugh, heading over the shelter nearby.

Nora took a moment before following him. It was jarring, seeing how much had changed in what felt like a few days. There were more skeletons littered about, and Nora doubted they would be the last – this area seems to have been abandoned completely, bodies left out to rot in the sun. Nora had killed on a number of occasions, so she was aware of the realities of death, but it seemed a little inhumane to just leave them there for the crows.

“First aid supplies here.” Nate called out, “No food, no bags.”

“Jacket or lighter?” Nora asked. The last few days had been a fight against the cold.

“Nada.” Nate said, walking back towards her, “Let’s keep looking around.”

After scouting the nearby crates and buildings, they managed to find some more RadAway packs, a grenade, and most importantly, a can of cram. They sat on the crates, sharing the thing with a tarnished silver spoon, and Nora began to relax a little. It didn’t take long for them to clean the can out, though, leaving them with an appetite and no further distractions.

“There should be more food in the houses.” Nate mentioned, sounding hesitant.

Nora wasn’t too excited about heading back to the suburbs either. She doubted there would be much left. However, they weren’t about to track their son by sitting around – and there had to be some signs of life somewhere.

“Let’s do it,” Nora said, helping her companion up. “No use in waiting about.”

“Yes ma’am.” Nate said, with a tired salute.

He was still recovering, Nora noted. They wouldn’t make it far that day, so they should stick to scouting the area. The vault was safe, even if it was cold and depressing, and any long term mission had to start with a home base. Tomorrow they might be able to throw together a shelter using the ruined tin houses she could see in distance, and when Nate got better, they could move out further.

“Nora?” Nate asked, concern marring his features. She'd spaced out again.

“I’ll take point for once,” Nora said, smiling, “I know that’s not our usual M.O., but I don’t think you’re up for any wrestling right now.”

“Hand to hand is not wrestling,” Nate huffed, but his expression relaxed, and he fell in two steps behind her.

Part of Nora felt at ease – it had been a long time since she had the heavy weight of a pistol in hand, her weapon of choice while in the service. Nora wasn’t a natural parent by any stretch of the imagination, her rough childhood was evidence enough that nurturing just wasn’t in her blood, but she’d always wanted a family. She’d gotten the best one she could have hoped for. Nate was a good man, possibly the best she’d ever met, and Nora loved her baby more than she thought she was capable.

And tracking down assholes? That was something she had experience with.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this, atom almighty. This is my first publish fanwork of any kind, and while it seems to sit quite well on its own, I have SO MANY IDEAS for future pairings etc. so let me know what you think, or something. I love you. 
> 
> No beta. Forgive me for my sins.


End file.
